COVID-19 case numbers in Park County are staying low, and restrictions are slowly continuing to ease.

“Our numbers continue to fall,” Park County Health Officer Dr. Aaron Billin said.

By his count, there were 33 active cases in the county as of Tuesday evening — including 16 in Powell and 13 in Cody — with one patient hospitalized at Cody Regional Health.

It’s a significant improvement from December and January, when Park County had more than 170 active cases and 15 or more hospitalizations at a few different points.

Billin said the county has gone from having the second-most number of cases of COVID-19 per capita in Wyoming to 10th. That puts Park County roughly in the middle of the pack among the state’s 23 counties.

With the local numbers improving, Billin and State Health Officer Dr. Alexia Harrist recently relaxed some of the public health orders for specific situations. Most notably, the doctors agreed Tuesday to again allow up to 500 spectators to attend events in the Powell High School gymnasium. That’s equal to 25% of the gym’s capacity and the same number of spectators allowed during the fall sports season. Attendance had been limited to 100 spectators in late November amid a statewide spike in cases of COVID-19 — and with local numbers not any better, Harrist had refused to allow any exception or variances at that time. However, the cap on indoor gatherings loosened to 250 people last month as cases and hospitalizations fell, and PHS is now being allowed to double that figure.

“As we near the conclusion of our winter sports seasons, our school district as well as our county COVID-positive case numbers have continued to drop,” PHS Activities Director Scott McKenzie wrote in his exception request, “giving us confidence we can hold indoor events that are safe and will not contribute to the spread of the COVID-19 virus.”

Even with a 500-person crowd, there’s enough room for people to sit 6 feet apart. Attendees will also be required to wear masks — as mandated by another health order — among other precautions.

The state’s current health orders are set to run through Feb. 14, with new orders expected to be announced soon.

In a Friday Facebook post, Dr. Billin said that, “If you would like life to get back to normal as soon as possible, then it is important to get vaccinated when it is your turn, wear a mask when appropriate, wash your hands, stay home when sick, physical distance, and cooperate with isolation/quarantine.”

He added that the measures “will only be necessary until we approach significant herd immunity.” Health officials say the key to reaching that herd immunity — where enough people are immune to COVID-19 that the disease can’t easily spread through the population — is through vaccinations.

Billin cited a recent paper from researchers in the U.S., Canada and Brazil, in which they projected that even 40% vaccination coverage could cut the spread of COVID-19 by more than half over 300 days.

Park County Public Health’s efforts to distribute vaccines continue, though supplies remain limited. As of Sunday, 1,400 people in Park County had received both their first and second doses, while another 1,950 people had received their first shot.

For more information — including a list of groups currently eligible for vaccinations and sign-up forms — visit www.parkcounty.us/CoronaVirus.html.

While most people who become infected with COVID-19 suffer mild to moderate flu-like symptoms and recover on their own, it can be life-threatening — particularly for the elderly and those with underlying health conditions. The Wyoming Department of Health announced Tuesday that the disease caused or contributed to the deaths of two more Park County residents last month: an older man with other health conditions and an older woman. That makes 25 deaths out of the more than 2,550 confirmed and probable cases recorded in the county since March. Across the state, there have been 647 deaths among more than 52,800 cases of COVID-19.